


Call of the Wolf

by Whedonista93



Category: Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet, F/M, Idiots in Love, Self-Sacrificing Morons, Werewolf Mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 12:47:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23711755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whedonista93/pseuds/Whedonista93
Summary: Wyatt wants his Mate to be happy - wants her to have a choice in the direction her life goes - so he doesn't tell her she's a Wolf.
Relationships: Wyatt Lykensen & Zed Necrodopoulus, Wyatt Lykensen/Addison Wells, Zed Necrodopoulus/Addison Wells
Comments: 12
Kudos: 72





	Call of the Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even gonna apologize. Ya'll should know by now that I'm a sucker for anything and everything supernatural.

Wyatt smells it in the blood on the tree - the blood of the girl with the white hair. His sister doesn’t share his faith that this girl is the Great Alpha, but he can smell it in her blood. He wonders why no one else can. His sister insists they go into town that night, and he doesn’t argue, but as soon as he can get away he runs deeper into the forest, where their Elders rest.

Gran smiles when she sees him. “Wyatt, come sit with me, pup.”

“Not a pup, Gran,” he protests, but sits at her feet all the same.

She runs a weak hand through his hair. “What troubles you, boy?”

“We found her, Gran. The Great Alpha. She was in the woods today.”

“But?”

“How do you know there’s a ‘but’?”

She continues stroking his hair. “You smell of both confidence and uncertainty.”

“She lives with the humans,” he tells her quietly, “and I can smell the Wolf in her blood, but no one else can.”

Gran chuckles. “My dear child…do you remember nothing of our history? If you are certain, trust yourself. There is a reason.”

Something in the way she says it tugs at his memory and the realization dawns on him. “ _Oh._ ”

Zed sits on his porch, head in his hands, after returning from the Forbidden Forest and dropping Addison off at home, and wonders how things got so complicated.

“You don’t like us,” a voice says from the shadows.

Zed leaps to his feet.

Wyatt emerges from the shadows.

Zed huffs out a breath. “I don’t know you. And I don’t trust you with Addi.”

Wyatt scoffs. “I wish I could tell you that you could trust us with her.”

Zed’s eyes narrow suspiciously.

Wyatt lifts his hand in front of him. “That came out wrong. You can trust the Pack with her. No Wolf will ever harm her.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because she _is_ a Wolf, Zombie boy. I can smell it in her blood.”

“Your sister isn’t so sure.”

Wyatt shuffles his feet. “I came here to tell you something, and now I’m not so sure how.”

Zed shrugs. “Just say it?”

Wyatt sinks to the ground, focuses on a pebble.

Zed sits back on the porch steps.

“This is about respect. And free will.”

“ _Oookaaay_ …”

Wyatt huffs out a breath. “Addison _is_ a Wolf. The reason only I can tell for sure… well… she’sprobablymyMate.”

Zed takes a moment to parse out the rush of words, and growls when he does.

Wyatt scrambles back a few feet. “Woah! Easy!”

“She’s my girlfriend!”

“Which is why I’m telling you!”

Zed closes his eyes and forces himself to calm down. “Why? I don’t…”

Wyatt sighs. “If she never wears a stone, she’ll never know. As long as she never becomes a Wolf, I can control myself. But if she ever transforms, if she ever takes a stone…she’ll feel it too, and neither one of us will be able to avoid it. It’s biology. She already picked you. As long as she stays human, she can keep doing that.”

“So…you don’t want her to become a Wolf?”

“Of course I want her to!” Wyatt shoots back to his feet and shoves his hand through his hair in frustration. He blows out a breath and continues quietly, “But I want her to be able to have a life, be able to make choices, beyond the call of the Wolf. I want her to be happy. And she’s happy with you.”

Wyatt somehow manages to convince his sister to let him hold onto the Great Alpha’s stone. She eyes him shrewdly, but doesn’t question him when he doesn’t offer it to Addison. The white haired girl manages to help them recover the moonstone anyway.

A camping trip. Addison’s idea of course. Humans, Zombies, and Wolves, all trekking to the farthest reaches of the Forbidden Forest to promote unity and bonding. None of them accounted for a group of bigoted humans with guns following them.

It all happens so fast that no one is sure later exactly how it happens, but Addison cries out in pain and crumbles to the ground. Bonzo and Willa crowd the more vulnerable members of the group against a rock face, standing defensively in front of them along with a few other Zombies and Wolves. Zed and Eliza rip off their Z-Bands and start throwing people into trees. Wyatt is sure he rips at least one man’s throat out - the one holding the gun that matches the scent of the bullet in Addison’s gut. He’s vaguely aware of Wynter streaking past him after a man trying to run away from the violence.

Zed cradles Addison in his lap, hands doing almost nothing to staunch the blood flowing from her midsection. He blinks away his tears and takes a deep breath, then wishes that he hadn’t. A thought strikes him and his head snaps up, desperately searching.

Bree kneels on Addison’s other side, tears streaming down her face. “We need to get her to a hospital.”

When Zed doesn’t see who he’s looking for his gaze narrows on Willa. “Where’s Wyatt?”

In lieu of answer, she nods her head, indicating the space behind him.

Zed twists and sees Wyatt hovering behind him. “Wyatt, the stone.”

Wyatt’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head. He holds his arms out. “Just give her to me. I’ll run her to the nearest hospital. I’m fast.”

Zed shakes his head. “Not fast enough.”

“Zed-”

“No!” The Zombie cuts the Werewolf off. He closes his eyes. “For all your heightened senses… I’m a Zombie, Wolf boy. I am intimately familiar with the scent of death. She won’t make it to a hospital.”

Wyatt’s legs give out from under him and he collapses.

Willa rushes to his side. “Wyatt?”

He shoves his sister aside with a shake of his head and crawls on all fours to Addison’s side, all but shoving Bree out of the way to get close. The look in his eyes is desperate when he looks up at Zed. “Her choice… this… she won’t… she can’t…”

“She’ll die,” Zed says bluntly, his voice cracking with pain. “She needs the healing factor the Wolf will give her.”

“It should be her choice.”

Zed swallows thickly. “She’ll forgive you. She’ll forgive us. You can save her.”

Addison lets out a ragged, pained gasp.

Wyatt chokes on a sob, pulls himself together, and fumbles the Great Alpha’s stone out of the inner pocket of his jacket. His hands shake, but he manages to secure the leather around Addison’s neck, settling the pendant over her bared throat.

Zed silently lifts Addison from his own lap and settles her in the cradle of Wyatt’s legs, then stands and retreats to the edge of the clearing.

_“Willa?” Zed approaches the Werewolf cautiously._

_She lifts a brow._

_“I have a favor to ask.”_

_Her other eyebrow joins the first._

_“I’d like to talk to one of your Elders.”_

_Willa’s jaw clenches. “Why?”_

_“I have… questions that I think only they could answer.”_

_Willa stares at him for a long moment before she nods. “Okay… but only ‘cause you smell honest. Come on. If we go now we can get back before it’s too dark.”_

_Zed follows her into the Forbidden Forest, uncharacteristically silent._

_Willa leads him to the Den. “The Elders are back, now that we have the moonstone again. Now that they’re stronger.”_

_Zed nods in understanding._

_Willa leads him past the main cave and through a winding series of tunnels, finally stopping in a small, warmly lit antechamber. She points to a kindly looking old woman in a rocking chair, sewing in hand. “That’s my Gran. Try anything dumb, and I’ll rip your throat out. I’ll be back for you in an hour.”_

_Zed blows out a breath and watches Willa’s retreating form until it disappears._

_“Going to stand there all night or are you going to come in?”_

_Zed jerks in surprise, then shuffles sheepishly to the old woman. “Ma’am.”_

_She chuckles and sets her sewing aside to look up at him. “You can call me Wyla.”_

_He smiles, just a bit. “I’m Zed.”_

_“Ah,” she nods, “the boyfriend, then. I had wondered if Wyatt would tell you.”_

_Zed just nods._

_Wyla gestures to the chair across from her. “Take a seat.”_

_Zed obeys._

_“What do you want to know?”_

_“What’s so great about being a Wolf?” He asks, trying and failing to sound casual._

_Wyla rolls her eyes, but obliges. “We’re strong, we’re fast. We age very well. We’re very hard to kill - quick healing from almost anything. We’re never alone.”_

_“How do Mates work?” Zed blurts. He takes a breath. “I mean… If Addison ever decides to try a stone, or… does it hurt Wyatt to know she’s his Mate but she’s with me? Is it hurting her somehow? If-”_

_Wyla holds up a hand, cutting him off, and smiles kindly. “Mates are not a simple thing. As long as Addison never takes a stone… well, she may feel some kind of pull toward Wyatt, toward Wolves in general, but nothing so overwhelming she cannot choose her own destiny. Wyatt… it is not likely to be pleasant for him, but not precisely painful. It is his choice to not tell her, to let her live her life as she pleases, and it would serve you well to respect that.”_

_Zed nods slowly. “But if she ever does take a stone?”_

_“If young Addison takes a stone, it will tie her to the Pack. It will draw her to Wyatt and Wyatt to her. A mere touch is all it takes for a Mate Bond to set, and they are already familiar. They will share strength, and if the Bond is strong enough, perhaps even thoughts, feelings. They will not want anyone near the other until the Bond settles,” she tacks on the last bit with a vague sound of warning in her tone._

_“She would know she belongs,” Zed says quietly, swallowing around the emotion that rises in his throat. “She wants that more than anything, you know, to belong somewhere, without question.”_

_“The life of a Wolf is not easy, Zombie. You know what it is to be branded a monster.”_

_Zed nods. “It has to be her choice. But how can she make it if she doesn’t know all her options?”_

_Wyla hums noncommittally and resumes her sewing._

Wyatt is acutely aware of Zed passing Addison into his arms, and he doesn’t have a clue how the Zombie knew he needed that, but he’s just aware of himself enough to be grateful for it as he clutches Addison, his Mate, close to his chest. 

It feels like an eternity before Addison’s eyes flutter open. She manages a few shallow breaths before she tries out, jolting up and clutching her side. Wyatt holds her shoulders tightly, keeping her upright, until the bullet in her side hits the forest floor with a soft thud and she collapses against him once again, gasping for air.

After a few minutes, she tilts her head back, looking up at him. “Wyatt?”

His arms tighten around her. “Yeah?”

“I can…” she takes a shaky breath. “I can see and hear and smell _everything_.”

He loosens one arm and lifts his hand to the stone around her neck, lifting it enough for her to see. “Welcome to the Pack.”

Her eyes light up. “Oh!” She frowns. “I can feel _you_ in my head… under my skin.”

Wyatt grimaces. “Uh, yeah, about that… know anything about Mates?”

Her frown deepens. “No.”

He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, reaches for the connection thrumming between them and gently pushes all the history and lore to her across the Bond.

“ _Oh_ ,” she hums contentedly, snuggling back against him for a brief moment before shooting up, back ramrod straight, eyes flying wildly around the clearing. “But…” Her gaze freezes on a small cluster of Zombies at the edge of the clearing. “Zed…” Tears fill her eyes.

Zed takes a couple steps toward them and shakes his head, offers a sad smile. “It’s okay, Addi. I knew what would happen.”

Willa catches on first and gasps. “Gran! That’s what you wanted to talk to an Elder about! But how did you know?”

Zed nods toward Wyatt. “Because he knew. And he respected my relationship enough with Addi to tell me.”

Willa’s gaze shoots to her brother. “How?”

Wyatt shrugs. “Her blood. I could smell it.” He reaches up and strokes her white hair, heedlessly leaving a streak of red blood in the fair strands. “I told you she was the Great Alpha.”

Addison tries to stand.

When she fails, Wyatt stands and gently helps her up.

She turns to face Zed. “Zed, I’m so sorry. I-”

The Zombie shakes his head. “It’s really okay, Addison. Ever since I talked to their Gran I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you, to give you the choice… I’m sorry we took that away, but…”

“We couldn’t let you die,” Wyatt chokes out when Zed trails off.

**One Year Later**

“Zed!” Addison smiles broadly and waves wildly as Zed enters the clearing, hand in hand with Lacey. _Wait, what?_ She grabs behind her blindly until she latches onto Wyatt’s arm. “Wyatt?”

She feels more than sees him turn into her as he molds himself against her back and nuzzles into her neck. “Hmm?”

She elbows him gently. “Am I seeing things or is Zed holding hands with _Lacey_?”

Wyatt pulls his face out of her hair. “Huh. Okay, didn’t see that one coming.” He smiles as Zed and Lacey come up to them.

Zed smiles back. “Hey guys!” The Zombie shakes his head and sobers a bit. “Can you believe it’s been a year since…”

Wyatt’s arms band tighter around Addison’s waist, one hand almost absently rising to brush over her clothes where the puckered scar of a bullet mars her skin. She rests a hand over his and squeezes reassuringly. She turns her head and rests her forehead against his jaw. “Hey, I’m okay. I’m here.”

He blows out a breath and smiles shakily. “Yeah, I know.” He looks back up at Zed. “So what’s with the cheerleader?” The Werewolf eyes the blonde human a little suspiciously.

Lacey blushes. “I’m not a cheerleader anymore.”

Zed smiles down at her head and shrugs. “A lot has changed in the last year.”

Addison rolls her eyes and reaches across the space between them to shove his shoulder. “No duh! Details!”

Zed chuckles. “Right. That’s the whole point of this trip, right? Get you guys caught up on all the gossip.”

“Everyone is really looking forward to having you back at school, Addison,” Lacey interjects.

Addison shuffles her feet a little nervously. “I’m kinda nervous.” She shakes herself and waves her hand between Zed and Lacey. “Okay, seriously, though, how did this happen? And you’re not a cheerleader anymore?!”

_“What do you mean Addison isn’t coming home?” Missy screeches from the front of the Council chamber._

_Wyla meets the younger woman’s glare without flinching. “Your daughter is a newly transformed, and newly Mated werewolf. And an Alpha,_ the _Alpha, at that. Most Wolves are born and have their entire lives to learn control. With your society’s bias, she’s not safe to do that here.”_

_“She’s my daughter!”_

_“You made her hide her entire life!” Zed bursts. “And she wasn’t even safe with you people as a human! Another human shot her, when she was fully human, just because she accepted us! She should have died! And now you want her to come back as a Werewolf who has nothing but base instinct?”_

_Missy pales. “I, I… my daughter can’t be a Werewolf!”_

_“She is, though,” Wyla states gently, but brooking no room for argument. “And that fact saved her life.”_

_In the seats behind them Bucky scoffs. “This never would have happened if she wouldn’t have tried to change things. It’s her own fault, really.”_

_Zed starts forward, practically growling, but before he can take more than a step, one of the Acey’s - Lacey, he thinks, the blonde - shoots to her feet and full on punches Bucky right in the nose. “How dare you! She’s your cousin - your family!”_

_“She’s a freak!” Bucky protests, hand over his bloody nose. “Oh, my face! How could you?!”_

_Lacey rolls her eyes and looms over him. “Shove it, Bucky! We’ve been really bad at acting like it lately, but Addison is our friend and she almost_ died _. You weren’t there, Bucky. You didn’t see… those men… there was so much hate. They would have killed all of us.” Sha pauses, breathes deeply. “Addison and Zed and… all of them, they’re right. Things have to change. Human, Zombie, Werewolf… we’re all people.”_

_“They’re monsters,” Bucky spits back._

_Lacey looks like she might punch him again, but restrains herself. “No. Anyone who tries to hurt innocent kids, or thinks it’s okay,” she glares at the class president pointedly, “they’re the ones who are monsters.”_

_“You are so off the cheer team.”_

_Lacey scoffs and chucks her pom poms at his head. “Good.” She turns on her heel and storms out._

_Zed, unable to help himself, follows. “Hey! Wait! Acey! Uh, Lacey, right?”_

_The blonde stops and turns toward him, swiping angry tears away from her eyes. “Yeah.”_

_Zed gestures over his shoulder, back toward the Council chamber. “That was amazing!”_

_Lacey scoffs. “Thanks… it feels a little late, though.”_

_Zed shrugs. “Better late than never.”_

_She shakes her head. “I’ve been such a horrible friend. And we’ve been so terrible to you guys…”_

_Zed smiles softly. “Addison’s the forgiving type, trust me. And honestly… so are most Zombies and Werewolves. We all just want to be able to live together peacefully.”_

_Lacey sniffles and nods. “Yeah, I’m finally getting that.”_

“Wow!” Addison exclaims. “You actually punched Bucky?”

Lacey grimaces. “Uh, yeah.”

Wyatt grins and holds a hand out for a high five.

Lacey laughs and obliges.

“Did you know Lacey is crazy smart?” Zed asks. “She’s single-handedly re-written every single one of Seabrook High’s monster policies to be more inclusive _and_ bullied Bucky into making sure they pass.”

Lacey rolls her eyes. “He’s just scared I’m gonna break his nose again and it’ll end up even more crooked.”

Wyatt tries to hide his laughter in Addison’s hair.

“That is amazing, Lacey!”

Lacey smiles. “Can you forgive me, Addi? I was _such_ a bad friend the last couple years…”

Addison beams. “Of course!”

Lacey slumps into Zed’s side in obvious relief. “Thank you.”

Zed jostles her gently. “Told you she’d forgive you.”

Addison’s smile softens. “You guys are cute.”

They both blush.

Wyatt snickers.

Addison rolls her eyes and turns enough to shove him a bit. “Be nice. Go start the fire?”

He sweeps into a bow. “My Alpha’s wish is my command.”

She rolls her eyes fondly as he goes, then turns back to Zed and Lacey, only to find Lacey has stepped away toward the next arrivals to the clearing. She bites her lips, mindful of her fangs and looks up at Zed. “Are we okay?”

He smiles. “We’re all good, Addi.”


End file.
